


Keep Your Mistletoe to Yourself

by Alitneroon



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Christmas, Drinking, Fluff, Humor, Jadzia Ships it, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-03-02 21:59:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2827538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alitneroon/pseuds/Alitneroon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Christmas on Deep Space Nine, and Jadzia Dax is on a mission.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keep Your Mistletoe to Yourself

Maybe going to Quark's Christmas party wasn't the best idea, Bashir reflects.

As the Ferengi would put it, opportunity plus instinct equals profit, and Christmas is definitely an opportunity. Bashir sits at the bar, listening to the incessant prattle around him. Quark's decorated the bar with fake icicles and bits of mistletoe and holly, and he's even managed to conjure up some holographic snow, falling gently around them. The dabo girls are dressed in red and white and wearing Santa hats. It's really quite charming, but sound of bells jingling-he sighs heavily- is definitely starting to grate on his nerves. He takes another sip of egg nog and tries to block out the noise.

Staring across the bar, he sees Garak coming into the room. He smiles a little and gets up. Garak can always lift Bashir's spirits when he's feeling annoyed with the world in general.

He walks up to Garak, who looks thoroughly pleased to see him. "Ah! Doctor Bashir! Would you happen to know what this-" he shakes his head and scowls- "is all about?"

"It's a Christmas party." Bashir grins. If anything can get him into the Christmas spirit, it's the fact that garak is (accidentally? Or is it intentional? He certainly looks rather smug-) wearing a red and green striped shirt that fits him _very_ well. _Damn the man._ Bashir thinks. "An earth holiday. It was originally religious, but it became a ubiquitous thing in the 21st century. This is a rather boisterous celebration by most standards, but what can you expect from Quark?"

"Ah." Garak nods, and grins. "Well," he says, moving closer, conspiratorial, "I think-"

Whatever he was going to say is cut off by a drunk Jadzia bouncing up behind them. "Garak! Julian," she says, holding her hands behind her back, "Merry Christmas." She pulls a sprig of mistletoe out from behind her back with a flourish and holds it over their heads. "You know the rules."

 _If looks could kill,_ Julian thinks, _I'd at least knock you flat on the deck right now._ He glares at her, shocked. She giggles. Julian will forever regret the day he got just drunk enough to tell her about his interest in Garak.

"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with this particular tradition," Garak says. "I'm afraid you're going to have to explain it to me..?"

At that, he panics a little. He's not sure how to get out of this, but he's definitely _not_ telling Garak what you're really supposed to do. Then again, Garak might be playing him for a fool like he always does. In fact, it's rather likely that he's straight up lying, and he knows exactly what this means. And if he doesn't, and Bashir tells him, and Garak takes his usual route of meaningless flirtation...

He's about to make up some random lie when Jadzia pipes up, cheerful as ever, "it's mistletoe. When you're caught under the mistletoe with someone, you're supposed to kiss them."

"Kiss them? Whoever it is?" He raises his eyebrows. "You humans certainly have strange traditions. Well, who am I to dishonor something such as this?" He turns back to Bashir and places a hand on his neck.

And then he kisses him. It's not much, really, just a faint peck on the lips, but it goes straight to Bashir's core. He feels like he's crawling out of his skin, and he's undeniably aroused by this, as innocent as it is.

At least, it would be innocent, if it weren't for the absolutely _smouldering_ look Garak gives him as he pulls away. He smirks and licks his lips, ever so slightly, the pink tip of his tongue darting out to wet them. "I'm afraid I have to get back to work."

Before Bashir can react, Garak saunters away in the direction of his shop, swinging his hips ever so slightly. He sends a smug grin at Bashir over his shoulder just before he disappears around the corner.

He doesn't react, doesn't think at all for a few seconds. Jadzia is collapsing with laughter. As soon as he comes out of his stupor, she redirects him into the bar, tugging on his arm as he continues to stare at the spot where Garak disappeared.

***

Several hours later, he's somehow ended up on the floor on Jadzia's quarters, staring, confused, at a drink, while she lies on the couch giggling at him.

"Boy, you should have seen your face! I have never seen anyone so utterly confused and besotted. And I don't know why you won't admit that he's into you. Literally everyone else knows he's been flirting with you for years. I mean-" she pulls herself into a slightly more upright position so she can gesture, " _I_ tried to tell you a hundred times, and you never even listened to me-your trusted friend and confidant!" She says, feigning hurt.

"Five times." He slurs.

"What?"

"It was five times you sat me down and tried to play matchmaker. Not hundreds. And you're still wrong. He's just flirtatious with everybody, that's all."

"Julian, you barely ever see him with other people. And from what I've seen, the looks he gives others _pale_ in comparison to the ones he gives you. I swear, you wouldn't admit he was interested in you if he painted it on his chest and ran into your quarters naked." She grins. "Now I'm imagining that," she rolls over, giggling, "and it's really funny!"

"Oh, shut up." He says, and takes another gulp of his black hole. "And even if he was interested in me, it would be a terrible idea. He's a _Cardassian._ "

"An _outcast_ Cardassian. I doubt you'll have anyone breaking into your quarters in the middle of the night. I don't think the empire cares much what happens to him these days." She gets off the couch and sits next to him on the floor. "Listen. You haven't reached peak drunkenness yet. I know you well enough. Have a few more drinks, then maybe you'll be a little more reasonable about all this."

Bashir downs the rest of his drink. "Blegh. Why am I even drinking this stuff? I _hate_ black holes."

"Drunk enough that you don't care?" She plucks it from his hands and he continues to stare at the spot where it was. "One synthahol, and a romulan ale." She walks over and hands him the synthahol. "Better?"

He takes a gulp, washing out the flavor of the black hole. "Much."

"Julian," Jadzia says, coming to sit in front of him, "you have got to say something. I don't know how you can deny it, after what happened tonight-I mean, he _kissed_ you! That's a little beyond the realm of 'flirtatious', I think."

"Yeah, after you forced him into it!"

She sighs in disbelief. "Oh, come on... It's not like mistletoe is some sacred, time honored tradition. He could have just walked away."

"He doesn't know that! Maybe he thought he was- he was polite- being polite!"

"If you ask me, you're afraid. You're so scared of rejection that you'll take any excuse you can come up with to deny what you know is true. Because this matters to you, enough that you can't take it lightly and just make a move. Do you really expect me to believe that Garak doesn't know exactly what the mistletoe means? He's a well read man. And even if he didn't know, do you really believe he wouldn't just completely disregard the tradition if he didn't want to do it? He's certainly never hesitated to do so in the past! Now suck it up and admit it. Seriously, Julian. Do you really think he's not at least the slightest bit interested in you?" Jadzia ends her tirade by taking a gulp of ale and slamming on the coffee table, then looks straight at Julian.

He shakes his head solemnly. "No, you're right. But what the hell am I going to do about it?"

She grabs his arm and pulls him off the floor. "You're going to walk right up to him and tell him how you feel!" She drags him, stumbling, towards the door, and giggles when he drops his drink. "Yeah?"

He looks up at her in surprise. "Um, yeah?" He squeaks out, and she drags him out of the room. Then he gets a determined look on his face and marches around her, out the door, and purposefully down the hall in the direction of the promenade.

***

Jadzia grins, trying to catch up with Bashir. _Finally_ , she thinks. I _'m going to make sure he gets all the way through that door, no matter what second guesses and doubts he has._

Of course, as soon as she has that thought, they come into view of Garak's shop, they see it's open, and Bashir stops short in front of her. She narrowly misses a collision with him, swings around in front of him and snaps her fingers in his face. "look at me."

He looks. The area is pretty much empty and there's a lot of noise coming from Quark's, but she keeps her voice down anyway. "I want you to repeat after me. I'm going to walk in there and tell him how I feel."

Bashir takes a deep breath, but his voice still shakes. "I'm going to walk in there and tell him how I feel."

Jadzia shakes her head, runs over to a replicator, and gets him a synthale. "You're not drunk enough yet." She shoves it in his hand, and he drinks. "If only you could stomach bloodwine-" he gags at the mention, "we'd have you drunk in no time. Oh well."

He downs a few gulps of the synthale quickly, almost desperately. "God, I am so fucked for tomorrow." He laughs. "You know, right now, I don't care. Not. One. Bit." He gestures with his drink, sloshing a little over the side.

"That's the spirit!" She claps him on the back and leads him to a nearby table. "Let's let that sink in for a minute. Keep saying that mantra!"

They wait a few minutes in an awkward silence, Jadzia observing the bar and Bashir nervously nursing his drink, and then Jadzia leans across the table towards him. "Ok, now repeat this after me. I'm going to tell him how I feel."

"I'm going to tell him how I feel."

"He's going to respond in kind."

"He's going to respond in kind!" Bashir hiccups.

"It's going to be so worth it." She puts extra dramatic emphasis on the so, laughing at herself a little, which gets Bashir giggling in response.

"It's going to be soooo worth it!"

"And then we'll have really great sex!" She can't help but smirk. _God, he's so much fun to mess with when he's drunk._

"And then we'll- Jadzia!"

He lunges at her across the table and she gets up and runs away. _Just a little closer,_ she thinks, stopping around the corner of Garak's shop as Julian runs after her. She runs back toward him as he reaches the door, and then all but shoves him through it. She stands next to the door, back flat against the wall, and puts a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles as she listens.

"Ah, doctor Bashir. What can I do for you?" She hears, muffled, in that syrupy voice of Garak's he always uses on the doctor.

There's silence for a few seconds, and then she hears Bashir growl. "Oh, you _bastard_."

She doesn't want to take a guess at what Garak's done to produce that response. She's sure it's as lewd, enticing and under the surface as she's come to expect from the Cardassian, but that thought is cut short by a small crash from inside, and then-

Yep, definitely making out.

 _That escalated quickly,_ she thinks, and then punches a hand in the air in triumph, before locking the door of Garak's shop for them. _It pays to know the security codes._

She saunters away, self-satisfied, and grins.

_Mission accomplished._


End file.
